Till Death Do Us Part
by Spunky Kitten
Summary: Rachel and Zack have been through a lot together. They've survived crazy murderers, an obsessed doctor, and even death itself. But their oath has still gone unfulfilled. What will happen when the time to fulfill it comes to pass? (Chapter 3: True End)
1. Delirium

**This three-shot is based off a post I came across while doing some research on Zack's fan-wiki. It went into detail about speculated endings for the game. Of course we all want to believe Zack and Ray just ran away together and spent the rest of their lives happy until Ray asked Zack to kill her when the time came that they were both happy with the lives they lived.**

 **So, there are 3 speculated endings in this post. I'll just get to writing and if you want to know more, I'll be posting an explanation to the endings if you are lost on something.**

 **We good? Good! On with the story! The most unlikely, but still very sad, ending is first.**

* * *

Rachel's assigned therapist, Dr. Mary, walked her back to her room, as per usual. Her time in the mental institution had quickly become a monotonous routine; wake up, join the other children for meals and "mental health exercises," spend time hidden away in the institute's library, go to therapy when she was called, and go to bed. It was rinse and repeat every day. She hated how the adults looked at her. They gave her such pitiful gazes when she passed by.

When she first arrived, she begged any official she could find to let her know if Zack was okay. He needed to live. It wasn't just about his promise to kill her. If something awful happened to him, it would be all her fault. He would be hurt all because she was selfish. She already accepted that he wasn't her god, but he was still an important person to her. When she would tell the doctors that he was her friend, going even further and refuting their claims that he kidnapped her, they would just say, "Oh, you poor thing." Zack wasn't that kind of person. He wasn't the type to hold someone against their will. He cut people down quick and easy. But every time, she could hear them whispering about Stockholm Syndrome.

 _It's not true!_ Rachel would find herself screaming in her head, even though her facial expression was completely blank. They would never understand. She could tell how none of them knew what it was like to be broken. She and Zack came together under that similarity between them. He helped her face the side of herself she wished didn't exist, who she denied was a part of her. But Zack was the first person to accept and fight against that side. He was her precious friend, who helped her see the truth of the life she was leading.

The blonde girl strode quietly behind the doctor, lost in thought, but immediately stopped when she no longer heard the doctor's footsteps. She looked up to meet Dr. Mary's hazel eyes, still filled with pity, pity she didn't want or need. The young woman looked ready to say something but seemed to be restraining herself. Her eyes darted around the hallways until they dropped back to meet Rachel's eyes.

"It's sort of against the rules," Dr. Mary whispered as she bent down to Rachel's height, "but I hope this will help you rest at ease." Rachel's eyes widened slightly, already predicting what she was going to say.

 _No… Please don't_ , she begged silently.

"That killer who kidnapped you" _Don't say it!_ "has been sentenced to death." The blonde's knees shook, threatening to collapse. "So that's one less thing for you to fear. Sweet dreams, Rachel."

Once the doctor escorted Rachel into her room and shut the door, that's when the girl fell to her knees. The world felt like it was going to rupture and swallow her whole, refusing to give her the sweet release of death in the process. "How?" she whispered into the silent room. "How is that supposed to make me feel better…?"

Rachel scrambled to the desk and took out Zack's knife, which she had hidden in a secret compartment. She gripped the handle tightly, whispering apologies repeatedly. She wanted to cry, but none would come. She always assumed that she cried so much already that her eyes had none left to shed. Zack was going to die, and it was all her fault. If only she could go back in time. She would avoid getting severely injured, so he wouldn't have to turn himself in just so she could receive medical attention. She would ensure Doctor Danny was permanently dead. However, she wouldn't change going into that building. She'd never regret meeting Zack. But that was only her selfishness talking, because a misery-bringer like her could only ruin people's lives.

The knife was the only way she felt close to Zack, so she took it to bed and expertly hid it under her pillow. Rachel felt just a tad more comforted by having a piece of Zack close, a piece he willingly gave to her. With that final thought in her mind, the blonde fluttered her eyes closes, expecting another sleepless night. She tried to prepare herself for the many that would come in the nights to follow. Death was so far away while she was in the institution. And the one she could confidently call her best friend was on death row.

What felt like hours passed in the silence of her room, and Rachel felt like the void was repelling away from her rather than pulling her in. She curled up tightly. She wanted to see Zack again, even if one more time. She at least wanted to tell him how much he meant to her, and to ask him one final time to kill her. But now, she'd wouldn't get to do any of that.

Suddenly, Rachel heard a knocking at her window. It was strange because she was on the fourth floor and the branches of the closest tree didn't reach her window. Rachel's hopes bubbling up deep within. Without thinking, she grabbed the boxes in her room and hauled them in front of the door. She could also hear someone panicking on the other side, but she was the adrenaline rush she was feeling blocked out the sounds. The blonde grabbed Zack's knife and stood a few feet from the window, anticipating the next event to play out. Just as she hoped, the window and the iron bars guarding it were obliterated. He looked like an angel standing there, bathed in the pale moonlight; her angel of death.

"Zack," she whispered, hands shaking.

"Ta-da!" he exclaimed, jumping down from the windowsill to approach her.

"You were supposed to be in prison…"

The bandaged man scoffed and chuckled. "Prisons were made to be broken out of! Now, come on! We don't have much time." He held is hand out to her and Rachel grasped it without hesitation.

"Hey Zack," the girl whispered, all the words she longed to say on the tip of her tongue. But the excitement for the fulfillment of their oath only the final words she wanted to say escape her lips. "Please kill me."

"Then stop your blubbering and smile!" Zack took the knife she was holding and plunged it into her heart seconds after she offered him her brightest smile.

"Thank you," Rachel managed to mutter as blood filled her mouth, her smile still in place. She could feel herself falling, and she could only guess it was Zack pulling them out the window. She could finally die in peace. She trusted her friend to find a nice resting place for her.

The next morning, the doctors had to call security when they found a patient's barricaded. But once they got it open, everyone in attendance gasped at the sight. There, lying in the middle of the floor in a blood of her own blood, was Rachel Gardner. A knife was plunged in her chest, staining her white dress crimson. A smile was on her face and her deep blue eyes were clouded. Her expression, along with the completely sealed room, indicated suicide. Security double-checked the iron bars and there were indeed firmly in place. From past records, the officials chalked her death up to an episode of mental delirium. She had probably seen something so horrific that she thought death was the only means of escape.

Her tragic death made it to the papers. The doctors would comment how she seemed to be making great progress in her treatment, even overcoming her obsession with the killer who kidnapped her. But in the same newspaper was an article about Isaac Foster's escape from prison just a day later in the week.

Zack cried for the first time in his life when he heard the news. He'd heard from the people on the streets about Ray's act of suicide. She must've heard about him being sentenced to execution and figured offing herself had become her only way to die. When all was still in the dark night, the dark-haired male searched high and low for Ray's grave. He memorized the squiggles that supposedly spelling her name. He was lucky enough to find it on a little hill, overlooking the rest of the graves.

Zack dropped to his knees in front of the grave, slamming his bandaged fist into the dirt. "Damnit, Ray!" he cried out, tears flowing down his face, wetting the bandages. "If you waited a little longer…" She once said that she'd bear the weight of their oath, so he didn't need to call himself a liar. But he couldn't help it. He wasn't there when she needed him most, and he'd have to live with that forever.

"I'm sorry!" He hit the ground harder. "Come back… I still need you… We're not done yet…"

* * *

 **So…crying yet?**

 **This is based off this speculated ending:**

 **Rachel has been canonically diagnosed with mental delirium. In this ending, she has an episode of delirium and envisions Zack visiting her and finally killing her. But she's actually plunging the knife into herself, committing suicide. She was so committed to dying by Zack's hand that her delirious brain conjured up the appropriate sounds and effects to fill the environment.**

 **But, as I said, this is the most unlikely ending, because at the end of the game, the window of Rachel's room is shown. The glass is shattered, the iron bars are broken, and there's blood on the windowsill. She couldn't have jumped out the window as an act of suicide, since the glass is inside the room, indicating it's been broken from the outside, and she's not strong enough to break iron bars.**

 **Anyway, the next chapter is almost done, so look forward to that ending.**

 **Next Time: Official (Speculated) Ending**


	2. Still Need You

**This is the official ending, or at least we theorize, of the game.**

 **Enjoy the happiest ending!**

* * *

Rachel felt physically sick as she stared at the rusty knife. How could the doctor possibly think that telling her Zack, her only real friend, was going to be executed would make her feel better? The doctor never knew the truth. Rachel lied about sleeping well at night, not having any disturbing or concerning thoughts, and even not having thoughts about Zack. Honestly, she still wanted to die, and she wanted Zack to kill her. She wanted to go outside and breath in the fresh air. She wanted to be at peace. Zack may have killed her inner demons, but her inability to forgive the side those demons created was even stronger in this place that boasted about curing people like her.

The blonde continued to stare at the blade that was entrusted to her, surrounded by the silence of her room. She promised she wouldn't commit suicide, even as a last resort. But keeping the knife served as a reminder. Someone thought of her as important. Someone desired her. Someone accepted her. But that someone was sentenced to death. So, what was even the point of trying to do anything anymore?

Rachel heaved a silent sigh and stashed the knife back into the secret compartment in the desk drawer. She slid it shut with a quiet sigh and trudged her way to her small bed. Huddling into the pure white sheets, Rachel curled up into a ball. She knew sleep was far out of reach at this point. More thoughts about Zack would continue to invade her mind and keep her up at night. All she could do was shut her eyes and hope Zack would be alright. He could run to another country and she feels like she wouldn't mind. Like she said, she would bear the outcome of their oath. And Zack was the only person in the world she would no longer lie to, push away, or shut out.

The blonde willed her thoughts to be silent and closed her eyes, expecting the same 8 hours of listening to the seconds tick by and waiting for the sun to rise. But after a couple minutes, a loud bang roused Rachel from her bed. She looked around, the room still in tact and nothing out of place. At first, she thought it was just her imagination. But then another bang followed. Was it someone working at the institution? However, that theory was dashed when a knock came at her door.

"Rachel," the therapist called, "what's going on in there?"

Another loud bang shook the room and hope welled up in Rachel's crest. If she listened closely, she could pinpoint the direction of the sound and its vibrations to the window. She was on the tenth floor of this building. One would have to be incredibly clever or incredibly strong to reach her window.

"Rachel, open up!" the therapist called again.

But Rachel refused. Instead, she barricaded the door with the cardboard boxes filled with her personal belongings. The bangs from the window and the persistent pounding on her door echoed throughout the room. The blonde girl hurried to the desk and pulled the knife from its compartment, just in case her assumptions were wrong. But those chances were slim, since she could think of no one determined and foolish enough to attempt to break into a sturdy window guarded by iron bars.

Rachel carefully made her way to the window, faintly hearing something about calling the police on the other side of the door. But she was too hopeful to think about that now. She brandished the knife, ready to go on the offensive if need be.

"Get back!" a familiar voice exclaimed, and Rachel immediately obeyed. She jumped back just in time to witness the window shatter open and the iron bars clatter to the floor. There, bathed in moonlight and splatters of blood, was Zack. "Ta-da," he quietly exclaimed.

Rachel was unsure if this was an illusion. He looked otherworldly, like an angel. "Zack…" she whispered in surprise and awe.

"I see that dull look is back on your face," the dark-haired killer commented, pointing to her.

"You're supposed to be in prison."

"Prisons were made to be broken out of," Zack said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

He broke out of jail? But why would he come to see her? She was aware of the risks of doing so. He could've fled to country and never looked back, if just to get the police off his trail. "But," Rachel weakly protested, "I said I'd bear the outcome of our oath."

"Well that oath isn't yours alone to bear!"

Rachel's blue eyes widened as tears gathered and flowed down her cheeks. A smile crept up her face as his words. "So…you still want…to kill me…?"

"C'mon! This is me we're talking about! I always go after something I want!"

Rachel could barely hold in all the emotions she had been suppressing for years. She ran up to Zack and threw her arms around him, crying happily. She felt his free arm encircle around her waist, holding her close.

"Let's go Ray!"

"Yeah," Rachel agreed, "Let's go."

The bandaged man held tightly onto her and threw himself backwards, pulling them out the window. He swung his scythe and stabbed the blade into the closest tree. The bark was sturdy enough to not split under the weight of his weapon. The scythe sliced through the tree, quickly but safely lowering them to the ground.

Police sirens cut through the still night, red and blue lights flashing as the cars drew near. Zack tugged at Rachel's hand and she ran as fast as she could next to him. The exhilaration sent her heart into overdrive. A strange feeling bubbled up in her stomach. It was a new sensation, yet it didn't scare her. It felt…pleasant. Maybe it was the prospect of her wish coming true.

"Hey Zack," Rachel spoke up as they finally stopped in the dark back alleys of the closest city, "Please kill me."

Zack, in return, laughed heartily. "Then stop your blubbering and smile!"

That feeling in her gut burst forth at that moment. A smile stretched across her cheeks, blues eyes brimming with light as she not only smiled, but laughed. She laughed loud and wildly, years of pent up emotions flowing out of her carefully built dam.

"Huh," the bandaged man suddenly huffed, but a smile was still on his face, "You may be the only person that I can hear laugh and not wanna cut down straight away."

Rachel was surprised at his declaration and let a soft smile remain. "Is that so?"

"Yeah." Zack slumped against a brick wall, his hold on her hand not letting up. "Hey Ray… IS this…what having a friend is…?"

Now, Rachel would assume she wasn't the right person to ask about friends or any type of relationship. She was practically isolated her entire life and was told she lacked empathy for others, so she couldn't connect to people. But with Zack, something just felt natural. It felt right.

"I think so," the blonde decided to answer, sitting down next to him.

Suddenly, she was in his embrace, hearing his heartbeat. "It's kinda nice… Having a friend like you in this shitty world…" He chuckled softly into her long golden locks. "Guess I need you a little longer."

Rachel was silent for a moment. But then she wrapped her arms around him and closed her eyes. She still wanted to die, but she didn't want to leave Zack all alone. The thought made her sad. "For as long as you need," she replied with a smile, holding tightly onto him.

* * *

 **This ending is self-explanatory. Zack took Rachel away and then ran away together, supporting each other as the best friends they were meant to be.**

 **Next Time: The Final, Most Poetic, and Most Likely Ending**


	3. Together Again

**I saved what I think is the most emotional, most heart-wrenching, and most beautiful ending for last. Once again, if you want a full explanation of the ending, it will be in the bottom note.**

 **Enjoy as best you can through the tears as your feels get punched.**

* * *

Rachel shut her eyes tightly as she curled up in bed, praying this whole day was just a long nightmare. But she knew that wasn't the case. Her nights since she and Zack were separated had been nothing short of restless. All she could do was close her eyes and listen to the seconds tick by on the wall clock. Hearing her only friend would be executed only it worse.

She wasn't stupid. Showing even the slightest concern for Zack was interpreted by the doctors as Stockholm Syndrome. So, it was best not to show any semblance of emotions. But that didn't mean her desire to refute their claims lessened by any means. They didn't understand the full story. They didn't understand how Rachel pleaded Zack, of her volition, to be her executioner. They didn't understand how the two forged a bond over understand their pasts. They didn't understand how Zack was the only person to see this twisted side of her and fight against it, accepting all of her when it was over. He was the only one that truly understood. But the doctors preferred to consider their escape as kidnapping, pin her parents' murder on him, and call it a day. That, in her eyes, was unacceptable. But what could she do in her current state?

Just as she felt her rampant thoughts start to settle, a loud thud shook the room. Surprised, Rachel shot out of bed and looked around for the source. Another thud came, and she felt the floor under her bare feet vibrate. Such force felt unnatural for a single human being. Maybe something was going on just below her room?

"Rachel, what's going on?" a doctor called from the other side of her door.

From that, the blonde realized the sound didn't come from anyone who worked at the building, otherwise there'd be no need to be concerned. Without thinking, Rachel pushed the boxes full of her things in front of the door. She quickly pulled Zack's knife from the hidden drawer and held it close in case her assumptions were false. She slowly approached the window as it shook violently from the banging.

"Get back!" a familiar voice called out, leading Rachel to almost immediately obey. She moved out of the way just in time to see the window frame give in and come crashing into her room, shards of glass scattering everywhere.

Zack stood atop the windowsill, staring down at Ray with his bi-colored eyes. She looked even more like a doll in that pure white long dress the docs at the ward were making her wear. That dead look in her eyes significantly lightened when she stared at him intensely.

"Zack," she whispered, the slight breeze from the window blowing her hair back. "But you…"

"But what?" Zack weakly countered, strain entering his tone.

"You…you're supposed to be in prison…"

Despite his condition, he placed a bandaged hand on his bloody forehead and laughed loudly. "That's it?! Well…prisons were made to be broken out of!" He carefully jumped off the windowsill, careful not to strain the injury to his chest.

The blonde's big blue eyes widened, a hopeful expression taking over her features. "So…you still…want to…kill me…?" The hope in her voice was prominent and the bandaged man couldn't help grinning in return.

"Geez! Haven't you been paying attention? This is me we're talking about! I _always_ go after something I want!"

Tears pooled in the corners of her eyes. He didn't expect her to launch her body at him, but he caught her all the same. Her pale arms wrapped securely around his neck as she cried with joy. He let her. Better to get it out now so she could die with a smile. He gently rubbed her back as she sniffled, letting out all the emotions she had left bottled up for years.

The sudden pounding on the door ruined their moment. That and Zack could feel the haziness finally kicking in. The dark-haired killer jumped back on the bloody windowsill and threw his hood back up. He then reached out his hand to the only person in his life that cared about him and who he cared for in return. "Come with me, Ray," he compelled.

Rachel quickly nodded and tread her bare feet around the broken glass on the carpet, taking his strong hand with her small, delicate one. She jumped into his arms once again, this time so he could hold her during their descent. "Hey Zack," she whispered, her voice filled with more life than it's ever been, "please kill me."

Zack's face twisted into the kind of grin he wore when they first met, but beneath it lied a tenderness that was only for Rachel. "Then stop your blubbering and smile!" With that final word, Zack held Ray closer and tipped his body backwards.

His vision was quickly going blurry, so he had to be quick and precise. Zack swung his scythe enough to angle it, and then he swung it to pierce Rachel from the back, right to her heart. Her eyes widened as she coughed up blood, crimson drenching her dress and his hoodie. But the smile, innocent and grateful, never left her face.

"Thank you, Zack," Rachel whispered before closing her eyes, finally free from her demons in the sweet embrace of death.

She never felt Zack hold her securely in his arms or feel his breathing become extremely labored. Nor did she hear his final words to her. "If we meet in the next life, Ray, I hope I'll be someone that deserves you." His bi-colored eyes clouded over seconds before their bodies hit the ground, a loud crunch echoing throughout the still night. Not even a few minutes later, the officers at the ground floor found their blood-soaked bodies.

Zack and Rachel came into the world and grew up depending on only themselves. But when they met under strange circumstances, their worlds shifted so greatly that they grew to depend on one another. Life wasn't the same without someone by their side. Now they would never feel alone again. For when Rachel died, Zack followed soon after to ensure she wouldn't have to endure anything alone again.

* * *

 **There you go everyone; the most probable ending aka the "most likely happened but this game made us cry way more than we anticipated so we refuse to accept that the end will make us cry the most" ending.**

 **So, here's the deal with this ending. And I'll be using stuff from the wiki comment to justify it.**

 **In Episode 4, Danny says Zack couldn't survive a shot to the head. But what if he did, at least for a short time? In this ending, Zack is shot in the head and chest, and the blood on his sprite and on the windowsill may prove this. In the original Japanese version, Zack spoke less and less during the conversation, only giving single-worded answers or short noises like "hmm" or "ah". This could be from the blood loss and haziness of being close to death.**

 **So, Zack survives his execution and goes to see Rachel. You know Zack pulls Rachel out the window at this point, since neither of them are in the room at the end scene. When this happens, and the camera pans up to the moon, you can hear a faint stabbing sound. This could be Zack stabbing Rachel and killing her as she asked of him.**

 **Then when the police arrive, you hear a loud thud. A lot of us think that is them breaking into the room after it was barricaded. But what if it that was the sound of Zack and Rachel's bodies hitting the ground?**

 **In short, this ending is the theory that Zack was close to death after surviving execution and going to see Rachel in his final moments alive. And when they fall out the window and Zack tells her to smile, he stabs her and ends her life with his final breath. He dies shortly after and they are dead in each other's arms—you can see that Rachel hugs Zack if you pause at the right moment—just as they hit the ground.**

 **In a way, it's…kinda poetic. Using your last moments to fulfill the wishes of someone you care about, knowing you'll die shortly after. And in their case, they'll be dying together instead of alone, in each other's arms.**


End file.
